AIG unit to exit Iran-related insurance - filing

(Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG.N) is exiting business activities in Iran that came with a subsidiary it acquired and which now butt up against the sanctions against Iran that have been reimposed by the Trump administration, according to a filing.

Validus Holdings Ltd, a Bermuda-based reinsurer that AIG acquired for $5.56 billion in July, is winding down insurance coverage it provides to shipping companies that transport cargo to and from Iran, according to an AIG filing on Nov. 2.

The cargo includes crude oil shipped from Iran and refined petroleum products shipped to Iran, according to the filing.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers designed to stall Iran’s nuclear weapons programme and ordered sanctions reimposed on Tehran.

The United States on Monday restored sanctions targeting Iran’s oil, banking and transportation sectors and threatened more action to stop its “outlaw” policies, steps the Islamic Republic called economic warfare and vowed to defy.

European insurers, reinsurers, brokers and shipping firms have been winding down Iranian business since May as the United States prepared to restore sanctions on insurance and reinsurance beginning on Nov. 4.

Validus subsidiaries based outside the United States provide the Iran-related insurance, which includes coverage for vessels, war, cargo and liability, AIG said. The company is also exiting some reinsurance policies involving Iran, AIG said.

AIG received a license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control in July, allowing the company to transition out of Iranian-related businesses, according to the filing. Income from the Iran-related insurance is minimal, AIG said.